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Invasion of Brunant (1807)
Brunant |belligerents2 = Cettatie |commandersheader = yes |commanders1 = Unknown |commanders2 = Jean-Marie de Lassy |strengthheader = yes |strength1 = Unknown |strength2 = 500 soldiers |casualtiesheader = yes |casualties1 = 30 killed |casualties2 = 13 killed in action 40 died from illness }}The 1807 invasion was a failed attempt by Queen Hélène II of Cettatie to take over Brunant as she thought she was the rightful Queen of Brunant. History Background ]] Hélène II of Cettatie (1740-1808) was a daughter of King Jean I of Cettatie and Serafina de Murais. She was a granddaughter of Prince Karl of Brunant in the male line and a second cousin of Princess Brigitta. In 1779, her father died and she became Queen of Cettatie. As a great-granddaughter in the male line, she held a stronger dynastic claim over King Adrian II. After Brigitta's death, most Petrists supported the Cetatian queen in her claim to the throne of Brunant. Hélène was also the only one who made an actual claim to the throne. Many Petrists recognized Hélène's claim as she was the only other surviving male-line descendant of Karl Van Draak. Some Petrists hailed Count Daniel of Leiningen-Dagsburg as the rightful King of Brunant. Princess Brigitta named him as her successor in her 1795 testament as she did not want to pass her claim on Adrian II or the Cetatian royal family. The Brunanter nobility, however, feared a foreign ruler. Some Petrists also announced their support for King Ambroos I as they preferred a Brunanter-born de facto king over a foreign French-speaking queen. 1807 invasion On 2 September 1807, Hélène sent 500 soldiers under Captain Jean-Marie de Lassy to Sint-Hendrikstad, where they took over the town and the Fort Faariet in a brief skirmish. Support for Ambroos there was lower and her troops initially were bolstered by the townspeople, but dysentery spread through the their ranks and they turned back to Cettatie before they could engage the king's forces. Treaty of Vianne-Lesgordes by the Cetatian royal family and of Cettatie by the French Empire]] Returning to Cettatie, the queen and her foreign minister, the Count of Esquerre, entered into negotiations with Jean-Baptiste de Nompère de Champagny and Napoleon to firstly secure a treaty, support for him in Europe with the explicit support for her claims in Brunant. The Treaty of Vianne-Lesgordes provided for an occupation and takeover of the territory of Cettatie by the French Empire and the establishment of a French-Cetatian dynasty on the Brunanter islands with Hélène as Brunant's sovereign queen. 1808 plans In May 1808, an army of 600 soldiers was prepared to sail to Brunant aboard French ships, with further troops being readied for a second landing. Hélène, by then 68, suddenly fell ill and died. Her eldest son and heir, Martin (1775-1821), immediately called an end to the invasion plans and repudiated the treaty with Napoleon. Before his planned coronation in August 1808, French troops invaded Cettatie, which led to the territory being occupied by French troops until Napoleon's defeat in 1815. Aftermath Napoleon apparently had no plans for Brunant until he could deal with the pressing issues in Spain, and the general outbreak of conflict again in 1809 shelved any plans. He had placed Martin under house arrest and did not allow him to be crowned king. In 1815, Napoleon was defeated and Martin was crowned King of Cettatie. He also restored relations with Brunant and recognized Ambroos as the rightful monarch of the islands. See also *Claims to the Brunanter throne Category:Sint-Hendrikstad Category:Cettatie Category:Battles Category:Invasions